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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22408603">Novocaine</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/xaphrin/pseuds/xaphrin'>xaphrin</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Because BOY DO THEY DISLIKE EACH OTHER, F/M, Reluctant Soulmates AU, which makes for some great sex</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 13:16:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,239</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22408603</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/xaphrin/pseuds/xaphrin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The universe had obviously made a mistake. Jason couldn't be her soulmate, there was no way. She just had to find a way to fix this, and she'd be damned if her world was going to be consumed by him.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Raven/Jason Todd, Raven/Red X (DCU)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>169</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>Date and time. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Printed nice and neat in a pale tan color on the inside of her right wrist, hidden easily by the long sleeves of her uniform. It had been there since she was born - an old remnant from Azarath that no one else on this earth seemed to have. Starfire had seen it once when they were in the locker room showers together. Her eyes had widened and she had somehow known </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span> what it was, but she had never pressed Raven on it, nor did she tell their teammates, for which Raven was eternally grateful. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven couldn’t imagine trying to tell a wide-eyed Boy Wonder and Beast Boy that there really </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span> things like soulmates, and she didn’t want to. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span>. All of it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Soulmates were </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Like she was supposed to believe that somehow the chaotic nonsense of the universe created soulmates? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Pft. Idiotic. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The universe didn’t give a single care about her or anyone else, and yet Raven was supposed to believe that her </span>
  <em>
    <span>one true love</span>
  </em>
  <span> was hiding out somewhere in this bar, just </span>
  <em>
    <span>waiting</span>
  </em>
  <span> to meet her? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Great.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Color her excited.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven sighed and pitched her head forward, burying her face in her hands. Sometimes, it felt like her whole world was built upon secrets, and she never really knew how to tell her friends exactly what the truth was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Besides, if her teammates knew that soulmates were real, they would start asking her questions about who </span>
  <em>
    <span>their</span>
  </em>
  <span> soulmate was, but Raven didn’t know. No one in Azarath really knew who their soulmate was, and the only indication that they even had a soulmate was the date and time etched into their skin. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked down at the inside of her right wrist and glared at that </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span> set of numbers that reminded her that today was the day. Today was the day she was going to meet the person who was going to be a part of her life forever - her soulmate. Ugh. She hated the sound of it, like it was something permanent that she would never be able to untangle herself from - a stain she was forced to carry around for the rest of her life.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes moved around the dark, smoky room of the bar she was in, seeing a sea of colors and shadows, and feeling a rush of emotions shove against her senses. A fleck of guilt swarmed in her stomach, as she realized she wasn’t even sure where she was supposed to go - she could have been anywhere, honestly, it didn’t really matter. The universe would pull them together, twist the red string of fate until they came crashing against one another. So, even if she was in this noisy bar with a band that couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket, her soulmate would find her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only thing she knew was that she was supposed to meet them in two minutes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven glanced at the clock and cursed under her breath. Correction, one minute. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She chewed on her lower lip and wondered if maybe she should have chosen a different place. Maybe somewhere better, like a nice restaurant, or a coffee shop, or a bookshop, or literally anywhere else that wasn’t here- </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck you, man.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rough sound of a curse pulled her out of her own thoughts, and Raven turned around her to see a man being led out of the mosh pit to the edge of the floor. She glanced at her phone, checked at her wrist, and stared at him. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Him.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Her stupid soulmate. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, god. No.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He whipped his head around to stare at her, a ragged scar ran down the edge of his face, and a pale patch of white hair shaded too-green eyes. His lip pulled up in a snarl, like he wanted to curse her, but didn’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span>. There was something about him that set her on edge, like she was supposed to know him from somewhere, but couldn’t quite place him. Maybe it was the fact that she was destined to be with him for the rest of her life, or maybe it was something else entirely, but she felt like her world was suddenly growing smaller and closing in on her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was claustrophobic. He felt too close, too sharp, too painful… too much of </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She didn’t want it. She wanted to run away and never look back. And, honestly, she </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> have.   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Shut up.” The security guard who was leading the stranger looked utterly exhausted, as if this wasn’t the first time he had to do this, and probably wasn’t the last. “Stay off the floor if you’re going to start fights with other concert goers.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guy shook his arm, shoving the security guard off him with another curse “Well, maybe you should keep your eye out for dickwads who are trying to drug girls!” He spat in front of the security guard and glared, his nostrils flaring. “You should feel lucky I fucking beat his face in, or you’d have the guilt on your hands. Do your damn job so I don’t have to.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The security guard looked like he wanted to say something, but instead threw up his hands and walked away. On one hand, this guy had started a fight, and on the other hand, he’d probably saved a few women from a worse situation. Raven felt her stomach turn, emotions warring inside her. One one hand, obviously this guy had a set of morals. On the other hand, it was unlikely that he followed any kind of </span>
  <em>
    <span>rules</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The security guard gave him another warning and disappeared into the mass of people and smoke, and Raven was left staring at the person next to her, trying to decide if she should run the other direction. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> have run. This could </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> have been her soulmate. Clearly the universe made a mistake. Raven would </span>
  <em>
    <span>never</span>
  </em>
  <span> fall for anyone who was like… like </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The man groaned and sunk into the bar stool next to her, glaring at his reflection in the mirror behind the bar. His eyes seemed to zero in on the bruise growing on the apple of his cheek, and he turned his face away from the mirror, staring at Raven next to him. A long moment passed between them, heavy and acidic, and he finally spoke to her directly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What </span>
  <em>
    <span>the fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> are you looking at?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven looked back at her wrist, noting the seconds that had passed and correlating them with the time she had spent next to this man. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <em>
    <span>No. No. Nononononono. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She felt an odd feeling of hopelessness sink into the pit of her stomach. Was this really where she was supposed to be? Here? Next to this asshole? Maybe she misunderstood. Maybe it was one of the security guards who had kicked him off the floor. They seemed like fine people. Fine enough anyway.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven looked over her shoulder, trying to see if she could find one of their faces in the crowd, but there was nothing. Instead, she was sitting here on a bar stool, during a noisy, pathetic concert, and trying to piece together what she could have misinterpreted. She sighed and rubbed her forehead, slamming her money onto the bar top, refusing to be a part of this thread of her destiny. She shoved at her hair and and stepped off the bar stool, taking a step away from what was obviously a cosmic joke. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The guy snorted and motioned for the bartender to pour him a whiskey. His eyes flicked to Raven’s and the intensity behind them kept her pinned to the spot. He snarled and tilted his head. “I’d rather not either, if it’s any consolation.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His words were a low rumble against the noise of the bar, and she was surprised she could hear him as well as she did. Raven swallowed a growing lump in her throat, and she turned back around to see him staring at her behind shadows in his eyes. It almost looked like his eyes were lighting up his face, holding onto an unearthly glow that reminded her of nightmares she had as a child. There was something… </span>
  <em>
    <span>not right</span>
  </em>
  <span> about him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shifted in his stool before spinning around to fully meet her stare. “I can see that mark on your arm. I have one too.” He shoved up his right sleeve, and Raven realized that he would have only had that if he was really her soulmate. So much for praying the universe had made a mistake. He lifted an eyebrow. “And, if my memory serves me right, I’ve only seen that same mark on one other person…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven blinked and continued to stare at him, waiting for him to elaborate. He didn’t say anything, and reached out to down the glass of whiskey the bartender had placed in front of him. A few seconds passed as he gulped down the burning liquid, and he slammed a few dollars onto the bar top. He stayed suspiciously quiet and crawled off the bar stool, walking past her. The scent of cloves, whiskey, and cigarette smoke filled her senses, and he leveled a cold, but electric stare at her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Raven</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” He knew who she was. Oh no. “Let’s go and get out of here, and deal with this like… </span>
  <em>
    <span>reasonable</span>
  </em>
  <span> adults.” He shoved at his hair again, flicking the lock of white out of his eyes as he made his way to the exit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven felt her feet move of their own accord, as if he was leading her on a leash she didn’t know was tied around her neck. She felt strangely drawn to him, but knew better than to trust him. It was like he was made of shards of glass, delicate and breakable, but somehow deadly, and she found herself losing her breath the moment he moved closer to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They stepped out of the noise of the bar and landed on a nearly-empty street, Raven stared up into his face and he glared down at her. It was as if they were both trying to size each other up, and try to understand what this meant between them - nothing good, obviously. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally he turned from her and rubbed at the gnarled scar along his jaw. “Jason Todd, if you’re wondering, Little Bird.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh, fuck no.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>That</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jason Todd? </span>
  <em>
    <span>How? Why?</span>
  </em>
  <span> This definitely </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> a cosmic joke. That somehow made more and less sense at the same time. She fought off an annoyed curse and turned away from him, trying to walk down the quiet street sidewalk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something about the way he introduced himself set her on edge, and Raven glared at him, pulling the hood of her sweater up over her head. A mist had fallen over the city, blurring the lights that flickered around her and washing away the stench of the city in summer. It was as if he knew that he wanted to fight her, but wasn’t sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>how</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She wanted to hide from him and hope he never saw her again - that would be </span>
  <em>
    <span>best</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She narrowed her eyes at him and stepped past him, shoving her hands in her sweater pockets. “It’s not set in stone, you know. It doesn’t have to be like this.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Really?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” He scoffed and walked next to her, his eyes darkening. “Because it seems pretty damn suspicious that you’ve got the same mark as I do. And somehow neither of us have managed to get it off our skin in all the years we’ve been alive.” He shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and fell into step next to her. “I’d rather not think of you as some magical red string that keeps me tied together. Fucking bullshit if you ask me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Same.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Raven pushed at her hair and moved farther away from him. She needed space from him, and he wasn’t giving it to her. She could smell the scent of him, feel his head, practically </span>
  <em>
    <span>hear</span>
  </em>
  <span> his heartbeat, and it drowned her senses in emotion. It was the </span>
  <em>
    <span>last</span>
  </em>
  <span> thing she needed. “In fact, I’d like to forget that I’ve ever met you, or that you even exist.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But, here we are. Destined to love each other for eternity.” He rolled his eyes and fell into step next to her. “So… </span>
  <em>
    <span>romantic.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven glared and picked up her pace, trying to keep her voice calm and her heart firmly contained in her chest. Just </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span> was he doing to her? “Look, Jason. We should forget that we ever saw this mark on each other and try to stay as far away from each other as possible. I think it would be best for both of us.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sure.” He shrugged and took a step towards her. “I’ll be happy to forget you as soon as the universe stops pulling us together, and making us cross paths.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A sort of mortal curiosity sunk into every fold inside her brain, and Raven turned towards him, cocking her head to the side. Cross paths? When had she crossed paths with </span>
  <em>
    <span>him?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Dick would have told her if she did, and she hoped she would have known. Raven stared at him as she tried to place where she had seen him before, or how they might have known each other outside of the unfortunate connection between her leader and Jason’s older brother, but nothing came to mind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She chewed on her lip for just a moment before meeting his wild, unruly eyes again. “And… we’ve crossed paths before?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Loads of times, actually. Time and time again. It’s like a game of cat-and-mouse between me and you and your friendly, neighborhood Titans.” He leaned back on his heels and grinned at her perplexed expression, enjoying stringing her along. “Oh, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Little Bird.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed?” Jason shoved his hands into his pockets and let go of a low growl, the sound rumbling and rude in the heavy mist surrounding them. “Don’t you know… X marks the spot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven stared at him, her eyes wide. Her heart slammed against her chest, threatening to burst. She swallowed air and stumbled back, unsure of what to say, but know she had to say </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “Red… X?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grinned, looking like he had caught prey he’d been stalking. “The one and only.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Well, fuck.</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The greasy diner had flickering lights and decor that looked like it hadn’t been updated since 1963. Next to the front door were framed pictures of Elvis Presley, John F. Kennedy, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Eclectic.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Out of the warbly speakers, an old crooning song rained down on her, and it felt like the complete antithesis of the hard, off-key rock of the bar Raven had just come from. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, staring at a worn spot on the melamine tabletop, half-wondering if H. A. and K. Q. were still together. Had </span>
  <em>
    <span>they</span>
  </em>
  <span> been soulmates, or just unfortunate ships passing in the night?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Based on her few and shoddy experiences with love so far, she was inclined to think the latter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Here.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She flicked her eyes up and looked around the space again, watching as Jason came back to the table, holding two trays with greasy smash burgers, surrounded by a mountain of thin, extra-crispy french fries. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here.” He set one down in front of her. “I hope you’re not vegetarian or anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not in this universe.” She shrugged and grabbed the food from his hands, surprised at how famished she suddenly was. This day had been hanging over her for so long, that she couldn’t even remember the last time she had actually eaten a </span>
  <em>
    <span>meal</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She took a comically huge bite of the burger, feeling grease and butter fill her body. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Heaven</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What, do they not feed you in Titan Tower?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few bites, she realized she hadn’t looked up from her burger. Heat filled her face as she realized how ravenous she must have seemed to him. She knew that her disregard for her health was simply the anticipation that made her feel so… </span>
  <em>
    <span>helpless</span>
  </em>
  <span>. So, out of control. Knowing that her soulmate was Red X was an annoyance, for sure. But, it was an answer to something that had been hovering over her head since she was born. It was something tangible, something she could see and touch, rather than just some nebulous idea of a soulmate that she had been contending with for years. At least with an answer, she had direction, and with that direction she could </span>
  <em>
    <span>fix this</span>
  </em>
  <span>.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Chewing slowly, she flicked her eyes up to look at Jason’s profile as he turned away, eyes scanning an old tube-TV in the corner of the restaurant. She didn’t want to admit it, but there was something </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupidly handsome</span>
  </em>
  <span> about him. His jaw was chiseled, lips full, and his once-perfect nose had clearly been broken more than a few times, but it somehow added to his charm. And his eyes - </span>
  <em>
    <span>gods, his eyes</span>
  </em>
  <span> -  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He glanced back at her, lifting an eyebrow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven quickly dug back into her burger, ignoring his curious expression. It wouldn’t do her any good to think about his eyes, and she had to remember that he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>absolutely </span>
  </em>
  <span>not going to stay her soulmate. Not Jason Todd. Not Red X. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Nobody</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She wasn’t beholden to this bizarre idea of destiny. It was </span>
  <em>
    <span>stupid</span>
  </em>
  <span>. There was another long stretch of silence as they both took a few more bites of food, avoiding the obvious elephant that was sitting at the table with them, glaring. Jason flicked his hair out of his eyes and looked away from her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So… let’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>talk</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven swallowed and shifted. “What do you want to know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How do we undo this?” He tapped at the inside of his right wrist. “How do we make it so that you and I… go back to whatever we were before. Forget each other exists, and exchange a few snarky comments during battle.” He took a long drag of soda and crossed his arms over his chest. “I liked things the way they </span>
  <em>
    <span>were</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She did too. Change was an unknown, and sometimes it produced results like… like </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span>. “I… I don’t know. I don’t know if there is a way to undo this, or to unravel this… </span>
  <em>
    <span>whatever</span>
  </em>
  <span> this is between us.” Raven blinked and looked back up into his eyes, taking a napkin to wipe at her mouth. “Honestly. Azarath was destroyed years ago, if there was a way to undo anything, it would be with the monks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who no longer exist. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Great.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Jason took a big bite of his burger and glared at nothing in particular. That tense, awkward silence settled over them both again, and he purposely let it weigh her down. “And </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> don’t have any way of researching this? Like don’t you have any contacts with Zatanna or Constantine?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>you?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” She felt a sharp point of anger and frustration spear her, and she leaned forward, meeting his stare with one of her own. “You have just as much connection with them as I do, and you could go running to them if you wanted to undo this, but - </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh, right</span>
  </em>
  <span>. You’re supposed to be dead. Wouldn’t want the rest of you disaster of a family suddenly knowing you’re alive again.” She bit back an urge to gnash her teeth at him, and forced herself to take a deep breath, trying to reel her emotions back in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A weighted silence settled between them, and Jason lifted an eyebrow as a near-smirk played on his lips. “Jeeze, you really don’t like pulling your punches, do you?” He sounded almost impressed, and Raven felt her spike of anger disappear as he watched her from under his thick, dark lashes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something inside her chest twisted and burned, and she shifted in her seat. The last thing she needed was Jason’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>approval</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She took a deep breath, held it for three seconds, and let it out slowly. This was </span>
  <em>
    <span>a mess</span>
  </em>
  <span>. This was a mess, and she was going to have to work with </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jason</span>
  </em>
  <span> to figure it out.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Look</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Zatanna hates my guts because of my father, and Constantine is… </span>
  <em>
    <span>less than reliable</span>
  </em>
  <span> when it comes to… well, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> really.” That was putting it mildly. He’d left her high and dry in more than just a few sticky situations, to the point where Raven was half-certain she was going to banish his ass to another dimension the next time she saw him. Constantine was </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> out of the picture. “I might have some things I can research in the few books I kept from Azarath, but… I don’t know.” She huffed. “I just don’t know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you’ve said.” He leaned back in his chair and sighed. “You’ve said </span>
  <em>
    <span>I don’t know</span>
  </em>
  <span> about ten times tonight. So, tell me. Is there anything you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do</span>
  </em>
  <span> know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven quickly retracted her earlier thought that he was </span>
  <em>
    <span>ruggedly</span>
  </em>
  <span> handsome. He wasn’t handsome, he was a goddamned </span>
  <em>
    <span>dick</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She glared at him and shoved the rest of her burger in her mouth, ignoring the obvious jab, and letting him stew in the weight of his question. Jason shifted, but if he was repentant for what he said, he didn’t show it on his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you think I haven’t been trying to undo this since the beginning of my life, then you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>sorely</span>
  </em>
  <span> wrong.” Raven shoved a few fries into her mouth, maintaining eye-contact with him in some kind of ridiculous power move. She swallowed and took a drink of her soda before looking away. “And, trust me, if I knew it was someone </span>
  <em>
    <span>like you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I would have worked even </span>
  <em>
    <span>harder</span>
  </em>
  <span> to avoid any of this ever happening in the first place.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason scoffed and flicked his hair out of his face again, as if her words didn’t affect him. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Yeah.</span>
  </em>
  <span> I can tell.” He finished his burger and watched her again, lips twitching as he thought. “So, do you at least have any ideas on how to undo this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean… </span>
  <em>
    <span>some</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She sighed and leaned forward, pointing a fry at his chest. “But </span>
  <em>
    <span>I’m</span>
  </em>
  <span> not the only one with the power to change this, you know. You can work just as hard as I can. You have your own connections, and you could fix this too if you wanted to.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>could</span>
  </em>
  <span> fix this, you’re right</span>
  <em>
    <span>.</span>
  </em>
  <span> But this isn’t exactly my area of expertise and I don’t even know where to begin if I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> get started.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and for once he let a small sliver of vulnerability peek through. “Okay, look. I can tell you don’t want this as much as I don’t want this, and while I can definitely tell that you wouldn’t have </span>
  <em>
    <span>intentionally</span>
  </em>
  <span> done this </span>
  <em>
    <span>to me</span>
  </em>
  <span>, it doesn’t negate the fact that we’re… </span>
  <em>
    <span>stuck together</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It doesn’t change anything.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We could ignore it.” Raven lifted her eyes to his and shrugged. “The mark doesn’t just cancel out our free will. It doesn’t make us fall hopelessly in love with each other where we both lose all thought and reason. And, it doesn’t make us slaves to each other-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, trust me.” He smirked, his eyes growing dark. “You might actually </span>
  <em>
    <span>enjoy</span>
  </em>
  <span> being my slave.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven jerked back and felt her stomach both roil and burn at the same time. Heat crawled up her neck and she glared at him, hoping her confusion didn’t spark across her face. What in the world was he doing to her? And why was she </span>
  <em>
    <span>letting</span>
  </em>
  <span> him? She huffed out a breathy curse and shoved the rest of her fries into her mouth, letting the silence settle between them, just so he could stew in his own words for a bit longer. Jason finally shifted uncomfortably, and Raven looked back up at him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>saying</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She finished her soda and leaned back in her chair. “We’re soulmates, it doesn’t mean we miraculously like each other, or even </span>
  <em>
    <span>tolerate</span>
  </em>
  <span> each other. It just means that we have a… </span>
  <em>
    <span>connection</span>
  </em>
  <span>. An unfortunate one. So, </span>
  <em>
    <span>my</span>
  </em>
  <span> suggestion would be that we simply ignore it for the time being. We just go back to our normal lives and forget that any of this ever happened.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just… forget?” He snorted and glanced away again. “I mean, </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It’s got to be just </span>
  <em>
    <span>that easy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven’s lips tightened, antagonizing him. “Do you have a better idea?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His silence told her everything she needed to know. With a soft sigh, she leaned back in her chair and met his stare. This was a cosmic joke, and they were now the punchline. They had no leads, no idea on how to reverse this, and so the only option they really </span>
  <em>
    <span>did</span>
  </em>
  <span> have, was to just ignore it. Even if it was only for a little while. Raven waited for him to say </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> to contradict what she suggested, but he kept surprisingly quiet, his eyes searching her face, until-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She blinked, surprised. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” Jason shrugged and ran his fingers through his hair, avoiding looking into her face. “If you think that this is something we can just… </span>
  <em>
    <span>ignore</span>
  </em>
  <span> for the time being, then let’s do that. Let’s just go back to our normally scheduled programming and forget that this ever happened.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fine.” Raven finished her soda and placed it back on the tray. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Fine</span>
  </em>
  <span>. We’ll forget that this ever happened and we’ll go back to our normal lives and pretend we don’t exist.”   </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason nodded and stood up, shoving his hands into his pockets. He gave her another weighted stare, letting it settle slowly over her skin. It felt like he was sinking into her, becoming part of her, until they were joined by more than just this stupid mark on their arms. He shifted and made his way to the door. “Then I guess I’ll be going. I hope I never see you again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She snorted. “The feeling is </span>
  <em>
    <span>mutual</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span> ignoring it was never going to work. She knew better than to expect it would, but it got Jason out of her hair, for a little bit at least. It was another two weeks before she saw him again. Or, rather, Red X. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Red X, who was currently perched on a half-broken gargoyle atop the Metropolitan Natural History Museum, his mask saying </span>
  <em>
    <span>absolutely nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span> to her. It felt like he was barely containing a storm of anger and disappointment, and the only thing he could do was simply sit there and </span>
  <em>
    <span>stare.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Raven’s lips twitched, trying not to think about what they had talked about just a few weeks ago. It should have been easy to ignore this, but somehow… somehow it wasn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of </span>
  <em>
    <span>course</span>
  </em>
  <span> it wasn’t.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had spent the entirety of their separation trying to think that the fates had been wrong. They had to have been wrong. How in the world could this have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>right?</span>
  </em>
  <span> They were </span>
  <em>
    <span>complete opposites</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and not </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> on different sides of the law. Jason was crass and rude, he drank heavily, and glared at her from beneath too-dark lashes, his eyes the frightening, verdant green - residual magic from </span>
  <em>
    <span>the Pit.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He was the kind of person she would have avoided at all costs, and now he was thrust into every personal aspect of her life, just as she was thrust into his. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Red X continued to stare at her, his mask just as stoic as it had been the day she met him. It was… </span>
  <em>
    <span>disconcerting</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He didn’t move, didn’t say anything - just stared at her. It was as if there were a hundred secrets he was keeping just out of her reach, and she wasn’t sure if he was trying to protect her or himself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven’s feet landed silently on the tar roof, and she tried to read him with her powers, but he was a steel trap. What few emotions she managed to glean from him were a jumbled mess, as if he wasn’t quite sure what parts of were true and what parts were lies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Red X finally tilted his head and watched her as she approached, unapologetic. “You’re not going to find answers by digging into my mind without my permission, Little Bird. Some secrets need to be secrets.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She scoffed and stood next to him, crossing her arms over her chest. “Trust me, I am not looking to go digging into your thoughts and emotions, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Jason</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” She specifically used his name just to get a rise out of him, but if he was upset, he didn’t let it show on his face. “In fact, I can’t think of a scene more gruesome and horrifying than what’s going on in your head.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mm. I see you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>still</span>
  </em>
  <span> not holding your punches.” He huffed out an annoyed breath as he reached into his pocket and dangled a necklace dripping with diamonds the size of coins in front of her. “I take it you’re after this?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She glared. “You’re making it seem like that’s all I’m here for.” Her powers snatched it easily out of his fingers, as if he didn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>really</span>
  </em>
  <span> want to fight her. “But that </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> the main reason.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh?” He turned and peeled off his mask off, a tilted, knowing smirk tainting his otherwise attractive  face. He could be such a </span>
  <em>
    <span>smarmy asshole</span>
  </em>
  <span> sometimes, like he knew something secretive about her, and he didn’t want to share. “If not </span>
  <em>
    <span>just</span>
  </em>
  <span> the crown jewels of Markovia, then </span>
  <em>
    <span>what?</span>
  </em>
  <span> What </span>
  <em>
    <span>else</span>
  </em>
  <span> could possibly drag you out of your solitude to come track me down?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I… we should talk.” Raven pocketed the necklace and finally sat next to him, her stare mapping out the familiar skyline of the city before she looked down at the mark on her wrist, still annoyed by it. She pulled the sleeve down over the old date and ignored the strange, roiling feeling in the pit of her stomach. It had been appearing with more and more frequency, and that made her feel even </span>
  <em>
    <span>more</span>
  </em>
  <span> like she had no control over her own life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had felt… </span>
  <em>
    <span>upended</span>
  </em>
  <span> these last few weeks, like everything she knew in her life was suddenly transforming into something else. She knew it was because she was fighting against this mark on her arm with more ferocity than she did anything else, but she didn’t want to admit it. She didn’t want to admit that she felt like a string that was fraying with each passing day, and that there was something about being around him was calming. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh</span>
  </em>
  <span>. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn’t want to think about </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and realizing that  only irritated her more. She wanted </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span> to do with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven let go of a short, harsh sigh, and lifted her eyes to the purple dome of light pollution above her. “We should talk about… about whatever this is between us. About the fact that ignoring this isn’t going to make anything better.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>absolutely</span>
  </em>
  <span> agree.” Jason leaned back, kicking his feet out in front of him, his eyes trained on her. “I think we </span>
  <em>
    <span>should</span>
  </em>
  <span> talk about that. I think we should talk about how we </span>
  <em>
    <span>clearly</span>
  </em>
  <span> hate each other, how the universe made a very </span>
  <em>
    <span>apparent</span>
  </em>
  <span> mistake, and what we need to do to fix this. Because, I can tell you that I have </span>
  <em>
    <span>a type</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and you’re certainly </span>
  <em>
    <span>not it</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” He scratched at his wrist, where his matching mark - date and time - sat against his skin. “I like big tits and a better ass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven ground her teeth together, her anger flaring up so sharply that she heard the pop and sizzle of streetlights below her. She turned and glared at him. “And </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> is how I </span>
  <em>
    <span>know</span>
  </em>
  <span> the universe made a mistake, because you are </span>
  <em>
    <span>absolutely</span>
  </em>
  <span> not the person I should be bound to for eternity.” She yanked her sleeve down further and sighed. “We should keep trying to ignore it. Date other people-” Raven wasn’t exactly sure </span>
  <em>
    <span>who</span>
  </em>
  <span> would want to date her, but there was a person for everyone, right? “-try to forget that we-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Here’s the problem with that, Little Bird. </span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s not working</span>
  </em>
  <span>. It doesn’t work. It’s not even going to </span>
  <em>
    <span>remotely</span>
  </em>
  <span> work, so stop trying to shove that half-assed response down my throat, because it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking bullshit</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Jason whipped his head around to stare at her, the heat in his words flaring up like a wildfire about to burn the city down. “In the two weeks we’ve been apart, I’ve tried </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Ignoring it, checking out other girls, even getting rough with a couple of guys I’ve been chatting up. I’ve </span>
  <em>
    <span>been</span>
  </em>
  <span> dating other people, or at least I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven swallowed, suddenly unsure about where this conversation was going. Her heart felt like it was racing in her chest, pounding blood to every hidden hollow in her body so that she didn’t know anything anymore. Heat filled her face, and she watched as he leaned a few inches towards her, his hands nearly shaking at his sides. </span>
</p><p><span>“I’ve gone on </span><em><span>plenty</span></em><span> of dates </span><em><span>before</span></em><span> this stupid date on my arm - before I </span><em><span>officially</span></em><span> met you, and everything was fine. I could be with people, and I could get it up and it was </span><em><span>okay</span></em><span>, but now-” His eyes narrowed, that vibrant green of The Pit filling his stare with something akin to poison. “-</span><em><span>now</span></em><span> I can’t even get close to another girl without suffering from limp dick. I can’t even masturbate unless it’s to-” He stopped and snapped his mouth shut, a faint flush darkening his cheeks. “Forget it. The point is, I didn’t want any part of it, and now I’m </span><em><span>stuck</span></em> <em><span>with this stupid feeling that we should be together.</span></em><span> And you know what? It’s fucking </span><em><span>bullshit.</span></em><span>”</span></p><p>
  <span>“Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>done?</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Raven snarled at him, her voice a low warning. That tightness in her chest felt like it was about to snap, and she could feel magic gathering in every vein in her body. He knew </span>
  <em>
    <span>exactly</span>
  </em>
  <span> how to drive her mad, and she was stuck here, letting him walk all over her because somehow he thought this was </span>
  <em>
    <span>her fault</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He was an </span>
  <em>
    <span>asshole</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and he needed to be reminded that she </span>
  <em>
    <span>certainly</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn’t want this either. “Because, in case you forgot, you’re preaching to the choir.” She finally looked away, ignoring the way his stare darkened. “We don’t even like each other.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> don’t like you.” He growled and fished a cigarette out of his belt, shoving it between his lips but not lighting it. “So… Here’s what I suggest.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven snorted, giving him a flat stare. </span>
  <em>
    <span>This</span>
  </em>
  <span> was going to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>rich</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I propose we figure out how to break this </span>
  <em>
    <span>curse</span>
  </em>
  <span> between us, even if it means I have to come clean with my family and </span>
  <em>
    <span>you</span>
  </em>
  <span> have to beg Constantine for help. And then, after this </span>
  <em>
    <span>whole fucking ordeal</span>
  </em>
  <span> is over, we both go on our merry way and forget this ever happened.” He pulled the cigarette out from between his lips and spun it between his fingers, more as a bad habit than something he wanted to smoke. “I think that’s the best use of our time and resources, and offers the most </span>
  <em>
    <span>limited</span>
  </em>
  <span> contact. Because, like I said, I can’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>stand</span>
  </em>
  <span> you, and you’re definitely </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> my type.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you’ve repeated </span>
  <em>
    <span>several times</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And just in case you forgot - </span>
  <em>
    <span>same</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” Raven pushed at her hair, turning her stare back out into the city. She weighed his offer, her fingers tightening around the jeweled links of the necklace in her hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Working </span>
  <em>
    <span>with</span>
  </em>
  <span> him wasn’t an </span>
  <em>
    <span>ideal</span>
  </em>
  <span> situation, but it </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> at least a way for them to try to break this curse. She didn’t want to think about reaching out to Constantine, but… Jason was also willing to make his own sacrifices. Going back to his family was no small feat, and she was surprised he even suggested it. It meant he was willing to take this seriously. Raven had her resources, and Jason had his, and together they should have been able to find </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> that would work. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> was better than this. She wanted </span>
  <em>
    <span>nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span> to do with him, and he wanted nothing to do with her. The sooner they fixed this, the better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright.” Raven let go of a deep breath and glanced back at him from the corner of her eye, standing up and dusting herself off. “We’ll work together to fix this, and when we break whatever binds us together, we’ll pretend we don’t know each other and go our separate ways.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Good.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Jason shoved the cigarette between his lips again, still not lighting it. He lifted his eyes to her own, the heat in his stare softening as he looked at her. There was a long moment when it felt like the tension between them finally had a few inches of slack, and Raven watched as his shoulders eased just a little. A teasing smile played across his lips, and he leaned back on his hands, his eyes searching his face. “Of course, this means you can’t bring me in what we’re still researching. We can’t have </span>
  <em>
    <span>half</span>
  </em>
  <span> of this curse behind bars, now can we?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Raven’s stomach dropped and her eyes widened as she realized he was right. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The sly bastard.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Jason just grinned. <em>Honestly. This</em> was her soulmate?</span>
</p>
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